#critical role campaign 3 theories

[amsayshi]

Ok ok ok ok

I have some thoughts on critical role campaign 3 end game and I need to talk them through somewhere. So here we gooooo:

This last episode they spoke about a simultaneous attack. They spoke about infiltration teams and big boy attacks and some other things all happening at the same time and it made my brain light up with all sorts of conspiracy theories.

What if this attack is broken up into different storylines/group episodes?

A few episodes with the mighty nein, a few episodes with the bells hells, a few episodes with ragtag guest stars group (from all campaigns!!!?), a darrington brigade or a slayer's take oneshot, a fucking Vox Machina reunion, etc... all playing into whether or not this works to stop the release of predathos. Like a bunch of group skill checks but in episodic form. Like if the mighty nein mission fails that makes the bells hells mission harder?

This campaign in particular seems very cross reference-y. It also would be a wonderful way to set up a new team if they wanted to create a weird offshoot group that isn't the main CR cast. Something like the new podcast but filmed. Mercer wouldn't keep mentioning through Keyleth all of these forces coming together for nothing, right?!

Can you imagine a group that consists of kash, zhara, reani, keg, Deana, prism, and FRIDA?? I would die. The chaos.

Anyway I'm looking forward to whatever fuckery is coming our way.

[abitcaughtinthemiddle]

Okay I haven’t seen anyone talk about this but Scanlan’s “secret magical nightclub” he mentions in this scene is his mansion, right?

[thequeenofmyownscreen]

"I can help you win this war."

Oh, no.

bonus, the cast's reaction is just PRICELESS

[arabella-strange]

people in the chat are disputing who Tal's character is, but I do [as of !break] think he is the Wildmother: who has better reason to hate the hubris of wizards who despise and murdered the ashari? And who has better reason to want to bring Aeor crashing back to earth, for their defiance of "nature"? She's the WILD mother, her alignment is not "good" -- it is True Neutral.

[wenamedthedogkylo]

I already said this in my other post but this really deserves to stand on its own and honestly I'm crying over it so it has to get written down somewhere, but when Bor'Dor took a pull from Ashton's pipe, the smoke turned into an image of him shooting a Fire Bolt at the janky, creepy, lovingly set up dummy that the Hells had made for him. The target that his own targets made out of admiration for him, out of affection, out of genuinely wanting to see him grow his potential.

Ashton's pipe showed that the greatest, most heroic moment of Bor'Dor's life was casting Fire Bolt at that target, and getting to celebrate it with the rest of the Hells. It was feeling accepted for the first time in his life. Feeling respected. Feeling like he belonged, like he and his magic belonged and weren't some horrible, dangerous thing that they would fear him for or would have a temple come and cart him away for.

These people—who he somehow either followed across an ocean or luckily ran into—who he specifically stayed with because he intended to kill them for sabotaging the Ruby Vanguard's plans. For killing "his friends" in Marquet.

These people were the ones he finally felt accepted by. Not the Ruby Vanguard.

He gave Ashton the first piece of mental relief and relaxation they'd felt in years, maybe ever. He gave them jerky, and made them fruit leather, and caught a little fish and had Prism Enlarge it to make sure they could eat. Was he telling himself it was just to ingratiate himself to them, to get closer so the knife would be easier to twist? When did ingratiating himself become "I wanted you to like me"? Did he have to keep convincing himself it was all part of the plan, that he didn't really like them, that he didn't want to keep them alive but he had to to get his revenge, that he could let them die at any moment and this wasn't just him getting attached because how could he get attached to people he meant to kill?

Did Bor'Dor realize, in the moment that he decided to try killing them in that cave, that the Vanguard had only ever seen him as a weapon? That his "friends" who'd died in Marquet (he'd watched Ashton throw some of their bodies out of the Hole just days ago) wouldn't have sought revenge for his death the same way, because he was nothing more than a tool for one man's schemes? Did he realize he had more in common with Orym who'd lost all his loved ones to Ludinus and Otohan and the Vanguard—with Laudna and her myriad of terrifying, beautiful magical gifts and her desire to do good with them—than he'd ever had in common with anyone in the Vanguard?

Is that part of why he just tried to run?

It didn't have to be this way!

Bor'Dor healed most of the group right after fighting the Taker. He knew that his Vitriolic Sphere probably wouldn't kill all of them, that they had health potions and could recover. He just needed to get away. Get away so that they couldn't come after him, and he didn't have to see how he'd hurt the only people who'd welcomed him into their hearts in years, and he could tell himself that maybe they did die and he'd fulfilled his mission, and could tell himself too that maybe they didn't die and he hadn't actually killed his only real friends in the world.

I saw you! In Marquet! You murdered my friends!

Was he really still angry at the Hells for killing Ruby Vanguard members? Or was he trying desperately to fight back against how much they cared about him? How much they had genuinely reached out and taken him in? How much it was going to hurt him to hurt them? Was he trying to cling to his original purpose, so that he could ignore how much it hurt to kill the first people who'd seen his magic and said "you're amazing" and meant it? Who'd said "can I try something", "what else can you do", "it's nice to know I'm not alone, because you're in the same boat as me"?

And when he gave up... when he didn't try to fight back... when he begged for the end because there was no point anymore...

The Vanguard wasn't enough to stay alive for. And he'd just betrayed the only people who'd ever completely accepted him. There was no point anymore. No point in fighting. No point in living. He was done. He'd had enough.

Bor'Dor Dog'Son deserves his peace. I'm glad he got it.

[ludinusdaleth]

im just saying the part of me who first latched onto ludinus as suspicious due to him conveniently giving his tharizdun worshipping annex protection has been grinding my teeth at this reveal of a grand demon - implied to be under tharizdun - powering aeor. lud's obvious panic despite his known stoicism at vence's intentions revealed. the very measured way he said "nobody wants a cult of tharizdun to be given free reign, that would not bode well for.... anyone". the way the creature protecting/nesting in ludinus's tower in molaesmyr was designed exactly like so many of tharizdun's creatures. the way the ruidis flare of fearne's birth happened around the same time as obann or the somnovem being defeated. maybe, you could even argue, the way he seems to be going senile as his plan comes to fruition. there is something there. he is toeing a line of his incredibly vengeful antitheism and being haunted by the god of madness wherever he walks (and perhaps these are one and the same?). there's a reason when i was on twitter my group loved the phrase "remember kids, never rule out tharizdun". im never ruling him out. not when hes so close to predathos in cosmic design and he keeps showing up in relation to ludinus's intentions.

[jibril-thelibraryangel]

You know I’m in an interesting position regarding the Bard Lament change

On one hand, I’m straight up not as attached to Bard’s Lament as everyone else in the fandom seems to be

Sure it was a dramatic moment with some great acting from Sam… but it was also very nasty and visceral in a way that the rest of the show isn’t and it really never gets addressed properly

Also I feel like the whole fandom always simplifies it as “poor little guiltless Scanlan finally standing up to everyone else who are evil bullies to him all the time for no reason”

All this to say, if you had told me months ago that they were removing Bard’s Lament, I would have been surprised but not upset

However after seeing the whole season… damn I really do feel they squandered some AMAZING set up for it

They show Scanlan constantly leaving Vox Machina behind and when he does horrible things happen to them, things that could’ve objectively been avoided by his presence AND HE NEVER EXPLAINS HIMSELF

They are about to execute Percy while Scanlan has a literal magical key to stop it and they find him passed out drunk, vomiting on the street… and nobody said anything to him about it???

Percy then literally DIES in a battle he left them for, like… it would’ve been 100% understandable if in her grief Vex would’ve cursed Scanlan off and blamed him for Percy’s death.

Then also Keyleth is mad at everyone about Raishan, Vax is self isolating because of his raven bull shit and only cares about Vex, and then Pike rejects his love AGAIN

That is literally the perfect storm of circumstances for Scanlan not feeling part of a family, resentment and animosity and a blow out… and they just didn’t??

They could’ve use the fact that only Pike and Grog cared enough to stay by his side during his comma, and nobody else seemed even a little worried about him? No?

Okay

Not as upset as I’m sure a lot of others are going to be, but definitely underwhelmed… which is not a feeling you want to be left with in a season finale

[warriorwitchwillow]

Rewatching the first episode of the Legend of Vox Machina on a whim and seeing the bartender sparked a thought.

Sam’s new character for Campaign 3 is a minotaur who can alter his face between humanoid and bovine, right? And in that first episode we see the bartender (a changeling, I think) do the same. And Scanlan is not in the fight because he’s with the bartender’s daughter.

He’s already connected Braius to Campaign 2 with his backstory and a desire for revenge against his own former character, Nott (and Jester), and I feel like it would be just like Sam to do this, especially after all the jokes about paternity the whole cast has been throwing around recently…

What if Braius is ALSO the son of Scanlan Shorthalt and an unnamed tavern keeper’s daughter? Conceived while the rest of the party was in a drunken brawl.

[wherethemagichappens]

So - if fan theory about 9th level demi-plane is true and Eseek casts the spell, and maybe the gang even meets with Caleb, do you think Liam will survive? 🤣

[helimir]

rewatching the episode now and my new theory is that astrid has been holding essek's fugitive status over on him for a long time (since she's resourceful and will not give away a single inch of leverage she's managed to gain and because it's easier to direct her deep-seated anger and bitterness at him than at caleb) and now that she's also in hiding essek is thrilled at the opportunity to be a huge bitch about it

[criticalbeauregard]

i meant to post abt this after the episode on thursday but the way beau said "i fucking hated her when we met" makes me wonder if there's going to be a kimallura-esque (in tlovm s3 flashbacks) enemies-to-lovers storyline for beauyasha in the animated series, which i would be really excited to see. i could be being delusional but as much as beau and yasha had a pretty awkward relationship at the beginning of the campaign that turned to resentment for a time once yasha was taken by obann (a resentment based on beau's blooming trust in yasha at the time), i would never have described beau's attitude towards yasha when they met as hatred. i mean... episode one is "will you hold me through the show?"

pike's journey in tlovm has been the most interesting for me to watch as someone who has seen all of c1 bc it's the most unexpected and new for me since they have changed a lot to allow pike to be with the party more. i'm super excited to see if/in what ways they do similar things for yasha's story in m9 animated. i expect her to definitely leave the party at times since they went into c2 knowing that would be part of her character and it became a pretty integral aspect of yasha's story, but there's so much room for more fleshed out dynamics with the party and if that includes beau and yasha feuding i will be thrilled.

[samskelly]

Honestly I’m so on edge about Aeor right now, the whole Exandria has been on halt with weird fucking magic bouncing up everywhere. What if those stasis bubbles were affected or another horror beyond our comprehension has been awoken? What the HELL is Dominox and why hasn’t Ludinus returned yet? I wanna know so baddddddd, CAN IT BE THURSDAY YET?

[abitcaughtinthemiddle]

Okay so after looking at IMDb with the rest of equally obsessed Critical Role TLoVM fans, I must say, if the cast list is truly accurate in that no one is missing…we’re not getting Percy back this season (which hurts my fangirl heart so so much) and Ripley is still on the lam.

That being said, here’s my final updated theory before Thursday:

Percy’s resurrection is going to be tied with Ripley more than it was in the campaign- since she’s still alive and kicking, the party still needs to deal with her and I believe that in doing so, it will end up freeing Percy’s soul and they’ll get him back then. (And, if IMDb isn’t hiding any cast members, this will likely happen in S4 during the Whispered One arc)

[arabella-strange]

imo the Grand Demon of Loathing is going to hit them all with reasons they hate (or could hate) themselves already:

Dorian's is all the reasons he was in the closet, all the reasons he was overshadowed by Cyrus, all the people he failed to be good enough to help (all the reasons someone he might love would not want him)

Imogen is her father's disgust, Liliana's choosing power over love for her daughter, Imogen's hypocrisy of also wanting power for personal gratification and lying to her friends (and herself) about it, her deep deep desire to be normal and the knowledge that she was a freak instead, her inability to save Laudna and her own doom to be alone (and deserve it)

Ashton's their many many failures, the times when they should they could rise above others and proved how pathetically they fall instead, it's FCG's death and the Nobodies' departure and parents who didn't care about them enough to reject power -- and their inevitable same fate, and all the reasons they deserved to be left behind

Orym's is being just a small little guy, just a toy soldier in front of a monumental horror, his inability to save people, and his inability to stick to his own better principles when those he loved most would have wanted him to (the ways he is letting down their memory and dragging down his friends now), and possibly his Fey doom to be alone and shackled forever, because he's just not as powerful, not as strong, not as good as they were or as he tells himself he is

Fearne's is her dark side again, her flightiness and selfishness, all the times she was a ditzy fool in the face of the grave seriousness of the world, all the times she made terrible choices and others paid for it (all the people who were glad they left her)

And perhaps most of all

Laudna's is already out there—all the negging Delilah has done to isolate and control her; it's the way she is powerless and her friends are special, it's that she always drags everyone down and they deserve to be free of her, it's that she is not fun-scary but just a rotten mistake and it would be better if she let herself go and stopped pretending to be worth saving

= Dominox has to be about preying and drawing on the ways that people shrink when they believe they DESERVE the worst of what they get. It's about pure Loathing and "insecurity"—it's the howl of the Abyss.

Fun!

[p.s. I do think Chet's beats coulda been more powerful if Matt had had another week to think of them. Like yes I guess Chet is haunted by accidentally killing people but he has been pretty resilient about that prospect. What he hasn't been so casual about is hurting his friends. It's why he chewed Ashton out so bad after the first Shard incident. It's why he peacocks so hard to all the higher-ups they meet. He doesn't want to be discounted and he really doesn't want to lose another family. I think if he gets Dommed again, it would also have to be about that.)

[iffasart]

Im only on episode 12 (send help)

But I think is practically canon that laudna is very clingy so whenever imogen has a VERY close call (almost all the time) laudna gets worried and has to be at all times glued to imogen to remind herself that she's still alive

[ludinusdaleth]

so, it's obvious one of my favorite meta aspects is how the bells have begun to parralel ludinus in the way they seek power to face the odds, and begin to believe the ends justify the means. but, as they begin to don blue in their color schemes..... that blue doesnt belong to ludinus. it belongs to fcg.

ludinus is the blue in a storm of red; now the bells are, too. but they do so with the tether that makes them try to be better than ludinus; their love for their friend. ludinus's blue established him as different from his cohorts; the bells' blue establishes them as a family united together. the bells' blue is not the blue of a calamity survivor who lost his humanity for his cause, who couldnt see a life outside of death anymore. the bells' blue is the blue of a calamity survivor who did his best to make every day a smiley day and discovered what it meant to live again.

may his blues wash out the martinet's.